Written in memory of my
brother,
William Frank Long G. M. 3/c who was
killed in action on February 11, 1944.

OLD GULF LAD, LOST IN ACTION, HONORED AT
DICKINSON TUES.

Memorial services were held Tuesday in Dickinson, Texas, for
Billie Frank Long, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hayward Long, who was
reported killed in action in a dispatch to his parents from the U.
S. War department. He was with the U. S. Navy.

Billie Frank is remembered by many in Matagorda County where
he grew up when his parents lived in Old Gulf.

The Daily Tribune, Tuesday, February 22, 1944

CITY WILL PAY HOMAGE TO WAR DEAD

Young Hero's Body To Arrive Here Tomorrow
Body Will Lie In State At Funeral Home

Bay City will pause momentarily from its
usual daily tasks Wednesday afternoon to pay homage to the first of
the Nation's war dead heroes to be returned here for reinterment.

Although no formal ceremony has been
planned, many of the city's citizens will be present at the Missouri
Pacific depot when the body of William F. Long, son of Mr. and Mrs.
J. Haywood Long, former residents here, arrives from San Antonio. An
honor guard of Legionnaires from Bay City Post No. 11, the American
Legion, will be on hand to pay homage to the dead hero.

The body will be accompanied here by an
escort, and will lie in state at Taylor Bros. Funeral Home until
services at Cedar Vale Cemetery Thursday at 3 p.m.

The 19-year-old veteran held the rating of
Gunner's Mate 3/c at the time of his death, February 11, 1944, in
the Marshall Islands. Before meeting death in an accident during the
Marshall Islands campaign, the youthful seaman served in the
Aleutian Islands and was stationed at Kiska, and the Gilbert
campaigns in the Central Pacific theatre.

He entered service February 6, 1943. He
enlisted after graduating from Dickerson[Dickinson] High School
where he was a member of the football team, earning his letter for
three years. He was captain of the team his senior year. He also
earned his varsity letter in basketball, and while in high school
won state and national honors as a tenor saxophone soloist. He also
attended school at Newgulf and Boling.

Pall bearers will be Roy Lee Walker, who
enlisted with young Long and served with him aboard the U. S. S.
Pennsylvania, Ernest Martell, Phillip Corona, Virgil Elkenberg of
Rice Institute, Maurice Crazzy of Velasco and John Jolly of
Dickinson.

Bay City Post No. 11 will furnish the honor
guard for the rites.

The young hero was among the first
contingent of war dead to arrive in the United States from the
Pacific area. His body among the 3,000 war dead arriving aboard the
Honda Knot in San Francisco last month.

The Daily Tribune, Tuesday, November 4, 1947

DEAD WAR HERO ARRIVES HOME;
CITY PAYS SOLEMN HOMAGE TO WILLIAM LONG

Funeral Rites Set For Thursday At Cedar Vale

Bay City paused briefly this afternoon to pay tribune to
William Long GM 3/c, the first of the Nation's war dead heroes to
return here from overseas cemeteries to be reintered upon home soil.

A small crowd of relatives and friends gathered in a small
knot at the Missouri Pacific depot to pay tribune to the youthful
seaman, who was killed during the Marshall Islands campaign,
February 11, 1944. An honor guard of Legionnaires from Bay City Post
No. 11, the American Legion, were present to pay their tributes to
their comrade-in-arms.

As the flag-draped, olive drab casket was lowered from the
railroad car to the baggage truck, the soft sobbing of women pierced
the solemn and tense moment.

The casket was transported from the baggage truck to an
ambulance and then the slow trip to
Taylor Bros. Funeral Home began. The body was escorted here by Chief
Harry R. Harris, USN.

The body of the dead hero will lie in state at the funeral
home until tomorrow. Funeral services will be held at Cedar Vale
Cemetery at 3 p.m.

Pall bearers will be former school mates of the young seaman,
who attended schools at Newgulf, Boling and Dickerson [Dickinson].

The youthful hero is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Haywood long,
former residents of Bay City. William was born here, but moved away
while still young. He was 18 years of age at the time of his death.

He entered service February 6, 1943, and served in the
Aleutians, Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns.
The Daily Tribune, Wednesday, November 5, 1947

WAR DEAD HERO REINTERRED HERE THIS AFTERNOON

Brief, but impressive funeral services for William F. Long,
the first of the nation's war dead to be returned from foreign
cemeteries for reinterment here, were held at Cedar Vale cemetery
this afternoon.

The ceremonies were held under gray skies with the sun
intermittently peering down upon the scene. An honor guard of
Legionnaires from Bay City Post No. 11, the American Legion, and
Chief Petty Officer, H. R. Harris, USN, who escorted the body of the
young hero here.

The 19-year-old veteran was killed February 11, 1944 during
the Marshall Island campaign. He held the rating of Gunner's Mate
3/c at the time of his death. The young sailor saw action in the
Aleutian and Gilbert and Marshall campaign.

Pall bearers included Virgil Eikenberg of Rice Institute,
Ernest Martelli, Roy Lee Walker, who enlisted with Long and served
with him aboard the USS Pennsylvania, Philip Corona, Maurice
Crazzy of Velasco and John Jolly of Dickerson [Dickinson].

Long was born in Bay City but left here at an early age with
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Haywood Long. Numerous relatives still
reside here. He attended schools in Newgulf, Boling and Dickerson [Dickinson] where he graduated. While still in high school,
he earned his varsity letter in football and basketball and was
captain of the football team during his senior year. He also won the
state and national honors as a tenor saxophonist.

The body arrived here Wednesday afternoon aboard a Missouri
Pacific train, and was transported to Taylor Bros. Funeral Home
where the body lay in state throughout the remainder of the day.

The Daily Tribune, Thursday, November 6, 1947

Edna Earl Mangum Long Muller
died February 20, 2005
Below her death date the marker says "A Mangum Girl"

Funeral
Services For Jacob H. Long Set For Saturday.

Funeral services for Jacob
Hayward Long, 65, of Dickinson, will be conducted at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday from the Howell Memorial Methodist Church in Dickinson.
Interment, with Masonic graveside services, will be made in
Cedarvale Cemetery at Bay City.

Mr. Long, a retired rice
farmer, died at his home last Thursday night.

Survivors include the widow,
Mrs. Edna Earl Long, of Dickinson; three daughters, Mrs. Kenzie L.
Meyer, Mrs. Allen Rogers, both of Dickinson; and Mrs. John E.
Blackman of Bay Cliff; one son, Steven H. Long of Dickinson; two
sisters, Mrs. E. P. Maynard of Bay City and Mrs. Howard Johnson of
West Columbia; and four grandchildren.

The Rev. Sam Jones will
officiate at the services. Taylor Brothers Funeral Home is in charge
of arrangements.

She was born Aug. 7, 1902, in Albany, to the late Will and
Florence Mangum. She was a member of Faith Lutheran Church of
Dickinson, a life member of VFW Post 6378 Ladies Auxiliary of
Dickinson, and she was a Gold Star Mother.

Survivors: daughters, Virginia Long Meyer and Joyce Long Rogers,
both of Dickinson; son, Steven Long of Houston; seven
grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and seven
great-great-grandchildren.

Preceded in death by: husbands, Jacob Hayward Long and Harry
Muller; daughter, Lee; son, GM3C William Frank "Billy"
Long, USN; five sisters; and two brothers.

The family will receive visitors 5-9 p.m. tonight at James Crowder
Funeral Home chapel.

Services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Faith Lutheran Church.

Burial with full VFW Auxiliary honors will be 3:30 p.m. at
Cedarvale Cemetery in Bay City. James Crowder Funeral Home,
Dickinson, 281-337-1515.

The Victoria Advocate, Monday, February 21, 2005

Eulogy

Edna “Eshie”
Long Muller

More than 100 years ago Edna Earle Mangum was baptized
twice, once in a creek, and later in the First Methodist Church of
Bay City in
Matagorda
County
.

She was born during the
administration of Teddy Roosevelt and lived during the terms of 16
other presidents.

The Civil War had ended
only 37 years before her birth. The long reign of Queen
Victoria
closed the year before, and
America
’s beloved humorist Mark Twain had eight more years to live. The
Wright Brothers would not fly the first airplane until a year
latter on the windy sands of
Kitty Hawk
.

She witnessed the
carnage and heartache of the First World War and married a
Doughboy a year after he returned home and it ended. Together, she
and Jacob Hayward Long raised their children throughout the
Roaring 20s and the Great Depression. The growing family knew
poverty but could easily ignore it because of their huge extended
family. She had eight other brothers and sisters. Only one of them
is now left.

In 1940, the family
moved to Dickinson, and in 1944 she gave a son to freedom on the
U. S. S. Pennsylvania. Five months later she gave birth to another at
the age of 42.

Her daughter Lee died in
1968.

The family grew an
extensive rice farming operation in and around Dickinson.
Together, she and Hayward helped build a new sanctuary that would
become Howell Memorial Methodist Church.

In 1960, her husband was
felled by a stroke and she nursed him for two years until he died
a peaceful death. In the early ‘70s, she married Harry Muller, a
wonderful Dickinson native who was immediately accepted into his
new family as if he had always been there. The marriage was short
but delightful. He died in 1975.

For the remaining 27
years, she surrounded herself with family, friends and the faith
that had remained unwavering throughout her life.

For decades, she was
active in the Weed and Wish Garden Club.

She was a member of
Faith Lutheran Church, a Gold Star Mother of VFW Post 6378, as
well as the Bay City post. She was active in the Order of the
Eastern Star.

Her daughters Virginia
and Joyce as well as her son Steven survive her. She also leaves
grandchildren Billye Pawlik, Jay Rogers, Rene Nations, Jan
Blackmon, Croft Casey, Michelle Brown and Monique Littlejohn. She
has 12 great grandchildren, and six great great grandchildren, as
well as scores of beloved nieces and nephews.

Her family heard her say
over and over throughout the years, “I’m going to live until I
die.” Boy did she ever!

Steven Long

Edna Earl [Mangum] {Long} Muller

August 7, 1902 - February 20, 2005

Edna was buried in Section 6 beside her first husband, Jacob
Hayward Long (September 6, 1896 – March 1, 1962). Their son
Gunners Mate Third Class William Frank "Billy" Long
(July 8, 1925 – February 11, 1944) United States Navy was
stationed aboard the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and was in the
Marshall Islands
at the time of his death. He died when a powder tank exploded
while being loaded into Turret #1 on the ship during battle. He
was first buried on the Island
of
Bikini. In 1945, in preparation to secretly test the atomic bomb on the
islands of
Bikini
and Enewetak, he was moved to Mausoleum #1, Scofield Barracks,
Hawaii. He was reinterred at Cedarvale
Cemetery in Section 6, Row 19 on
November 6, 1947 near his maternal grandfather William
Henry Mangum who died in 1944. At the time of Billy’s death his family was living in
Dickinson, Texas.